Maximum Ride 4: The Final Warning
by Livylooloo
Summary: What happens after Max and the flock saved the world? What will happen when Fang discovers he has a power: like everyone else in the flock. And is there anything else to save? Read about it in Maximum Ride 4: The Final Warning. Some FAX! R
1. Invisibility and other Extreme Powers

1Maximum Ride 4:The Final Warrning

Max POV

So I just destroyed Itex. But now what? We were flying aimlessly through the dark sky, not knowing what to do. We were all thinking to ourselves. If you're asking who WE are, its me(Max), Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy(Gasman), and Angel. We were flying in a diamond.

I was in the back, watching everyone to make sure they were safe.

Angel was in the middle. Her name really matches everything about her. Her wings were white and pure. Her golden curls fell by her face. She was my baby. A little, freak/mutant baby. Powerful enough to control anyone's minds. She's a little freaky.

On the left was Nudge, our chatterbox. She seriously never stopped talking. Her dark wings fluttered beautifully. She was murmuring something to herself about Itex.

On the right was Gazzy and Iggy. They were best friends. Iggy is the blind guy holding the dog. Gazzy is Angel's brother. They are the only real siblings here.

And then, in the front, you guessed it: Fang. My awkward best friend. My sometimes right wing. We had a weird past, lets just say. Going from making out in a cave to him being my "brother", Fang and I have been through everything. Fang's wings were so dark, they looked purple. If you didnt have raptor vision like us, you wouldn't have seen him. He hardly ever talked. Sometimes, I felt as if he were invisible.

I decided to fly with him. We needed a plan. I sped up and let my wing brush against his, letting him know I was there.

"So... what do we do now?" I asked him. He looked at me.

"What happened to always having a plan?" He asked. At first I was angry, but then saw by his smirk he was joking. "We need food. We need sleep. We need to find out whats happening. We have to make sure all the other schools and Itex buildings are closing, forever. And then, we figure everything out."

Woah. Silent Fang Talks. That would be the headline for the Flock Weekly.

I nodded at him. "We are over Maine. Maybe we should stop in the woods." Fang agreed. I told everyone we were landing in 10 minutes.

Fang was acting weird. He seemed too calm. Wierdly calm. His eyes were fluttering, threatening to shut. Something was wrong. His wings were folding up. "Ig! Over here! 12 o clock to my voice, 1 foot away! Grab Fang's back!" Iggy was over faster than ever. We caught Fang, and then he disappeared. As in, not there. Well, kinda there but not really. I know, I know... confusing. I could feel him, could hear him. But I couldn't see him. I could see Iggy. My vison was fine. Then I heard Fang's voice, "Wha's gon on?" He murmured.

"Fang! Can you hear me?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Can you see me?"

"Mmm hmm. I'm really dizzy.Can you hold me Max?"

I was frustrated. He was talking as if someone inserted some Valium in him. "I am holding you, dummy. Now hold up your hand."

I couldn't see him. But I felt his hand smack my face. He giggled. "Oops. Sorry Maxy. Where's my hand?

Ugh. What's wrong with him? Why is he calling me Maxy? Iggy was hiding a big laugh. The little kids were confused. And then, Fang was back. He reappeared in front of my eyes. He giggled again, "Heehee. Look Maximum: I can be inviiiissssaaaaabbbblllleee!" And then he was gone again.


	2. What happened last night?

1Chapter 2

Ok... so Fang has a new power? Cool, I guess. We all have powers: Angel can read minds, sometimes control minds, talk to fish, breathe underwater, and will probably discover more as she gets older. Gazzy can mimic voices like... amazingly. Nudge can feel emotions and who has been there by touching things. Iggy is blind, but can cook really well and stuff. I have super-flying. Well, thats what Nudge and Angel call it. I can go up to 300 miles per hour when I fly. And now... Fang. His power totally fit with him. He's always dark and quiet. And now invisibility.

But why is Fang acting all silly, like a 5 year old?

"Guys... I think we should rest. There is a nice forest below us, so lets go find a place with some wood for a fire." They all followed me down to the trees. It was perfect. Dark. Isolated from people. Warm. Fang kept switching from invisible to not.

"WILL YOU PLEASE CUT THAT OUT?" I growled at him. His eyes got big like he would cry any second. "Lets all go to sleep. I'll take first watch." I watched Fang lie down near the fire, next to Gazzy and Angel. I unloaded our packs to see what we had. A little bit of food, a little bit of water. This would last half a day. We needed more. I opened up the laptop that Angel "bought"(mind controlled someone to buy it for her) and logged onto Fangs website. I saw what Fang had typed since we left Europe.

We destroyed Itex. Good job to all those kids that helped. But now where do we go? If any of you notice any trouble, send me a message saying so. But about the destroying Itex part. It was pretty cool. All these Flyboys flew up and hit this electrical thing, so they all died in front of us. Gross. Cool. So we got away, and now we are flying. I have to go. I am typing this as we wait for Nudge to use the bathroom at a gas station. But shes out. So write me if you notice anything!

Fang.

He is pretty smart. We wouldnt have destroyed Itex without all those kids that helped. I looked around at Itex sites to see if anything new was updated, because if it had, then its back. But no.

Iggy heard my hands clicking and woke up. He tapped my shoulder and I jumped. "I'll take watch now." He told me.

"No, its ok. I can't sleep anyway, I have too much on my mind." I told him.

He was looking at me, not seeing. "Max, why is Fang acting all goofy?" I shook my head.

"I don't know."

I curled up on the ground next to Nudge after Iggy assured me that I needed sleep. And guess what? I actually fell asleep.

When I woke up, Fang was normal. Not invisible, not loopy.

"Hey Fang-y." I sarcastically woke him.

He groaned, obviously embarrassed from his un-Fang-ness last night. "Why was I doing that?" He asked me.

Angel spoke up. "I was reading your mind, Fang. I know you don't like that, but you were acting so weird. But you were thinking stuff like Cool! Awesome! I am invisible! And then your mind was wandering to food. And I guess you ate something that Itex made to see if the energy level goes up. But it went wrong and it made adults act likes kids." Iggy stopped cooking the remaining food we had in our bag.

"I guess we shouldn't eat this then." he said, tossing everything in the fire.

Fang POV

I cant believe I acted that way last night. I mean, I like to keep to myself. That was ridiculous what I said and did! My power is cool, but weird. Way weird. Can I control it? I calmed myself down, liek I did last night. And I disappeared. Then I thought evilly ticked up to my brain. Prank Max. I knew I wouldnt be able to fool Iggy, cause nothing changed with him. So I silently got up and poked Max. Then I lifted my wings and picked up the dog.

Total was hilarious. "O my goodness! I am flying! O woah!" Angel went to pull him down but I lifted her.

"Fang. You can't fool me. I can read minds, even from invisible people."

I put her down. So much for a little fun.


	3. Home Sweet Home

**Authors Note- I took the title to make it seem more like the real book. But I do not own this book or series or characters. Please R&R**

Max POV

We had a family meeting later that day.

"Ok guys! We NEED to make a plan. We need food. So first off, we are going to an all you can eat buffet. Then, we are finding a hotel or library with free wi-fi so we can search more on the Schools and Itex. But since my Voice isnt telling me where to go, we are gonna vote... got it?"

Everyone nodded their heads. For those of you looking at me like, psycho, what Voice? Its the voice in my head. Not my voice. Like, there is someone talking to me in my head. And recently, I found out it was my father, Jeb. Wierd, huh?

Nudge spoke up first, as always. "I want to go to Hollywood, California!" She exclaimed.

I hated California. I hated the beach. Fang almost died at a beach. I almost bled out on a beach. And California was mostly beaches. I shook my head.

"Sweetie, what's so great about Hollywood?"

Total spoke up. Who's Total? The dog. The talking/mutant dog. "One word: CELEBRITIES! I mean, Brad Pitt! Angelina Jolie! And O my goodness: Paris Hilton!"

Fang rolled his eyes.

"Ok, any other options?" I asked the flock.

"Maybe your Mom's house? Doesn't she have a computer?" Angel asked.

"Yeah! Lets go there!" Iggy said excitedly.

Gazzy smiled,"I wanna go where Ig wants to go."

"Fang, what do you think?" I asked him. I loved the idea. But I wanted everyone to be happy about my decisions.

He shrugged."It's cool."

So we took off. It was a long flight to Arizona.

Iggy POV

I didn't want to be the one who suggested Ella's house. So I was so happy when Angel did. I mean, Ella is so cool. She's sweet. And she's Max's sister.

Max POV

When we were halfway there, Gazzy started complaining. Loudly. "I'm hunnngrryyy!!" And I didn't want to admit it, but I was starving, too. Like, the kind of starving when you feel faint. And dizzy. I spent most my time making sure everyone else got plenty, I always ate less. But right now, more than anything I wanted 10 hamburgers, an X-LARGE fries, and a large pizza. All for me.

I was geting really dizzy. I couldn't even answer Gazzy. I heard a voice. It was Angel.

Are you okay?

I thought back, 'Tell everyone to land, NOW.' I heard her announcement. So I used my super speed to get down to the ground. In about 5 seconds. I sat on a bench. Fang came down second. He saw me sitting there.

"Max, you are really pale. You need some food." I thought in my head, no duh, Mom. But didnt say it. And then, I fainted. I think. Everything went dark.

I woke up to a straw in my mouth and drinking some orange juice. I sucked angrily at the straw I smiled at Fang, the one holding the cup and my back. He removed his hand.

"Nice way to freak out a flock. i almost had a heart attack." He said that playfully, but I could tell he was also serious.

"Where are we?" I used all my strength to sit up and make myself look all better.

"In a hotel. You should have seen the look on that managers face when he saw a girl half sleeping and a bunch of kids who looked like they were just in a war." He chuckled. "Who carried me?" I asked.

I could swear, Fang's cheeks turned a shade pink. But Fang never shows emotions, so I could have imagined it.

"Me." He muttered.

"And where's everyone else?"

"The little kids are sleeping, Iggy is picking up some food from the grocery store in the town. "

I smiled. "I'm tired, Fang. Wake me up when the food is here. "

And I don't know if he left the room or not, but I am sure I fell asleep with Fang sitting on my bed, stroking my hair.

The next day we were up and away, and by noon we showed up at Mom's house. Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge ran up to the door, racing who can get there first. They banged on it, and Ella opened the door. She looked like she was about to go into cardiac arrest.

"Mom! Max is here with the flock! Come out!" She ran to me and gave me a huge hug.

I smiled.

We all went inside.

"Max! I missed you! Honey, I have presents for you guys for the next time you came! But you're here!"

I smiled as she babbled on like Nudge. She brought out 7 presents.

"Total first!" She unrapped it for him, cause he doesn't have thumbs. And in the prsent was a purple sparkly collar and a dog carrier. "Now it will be easier for you guys to hold him!" He loved the collar.

"Ok... who wants the next one?" Mom asked the younger kids. Angel was so excited, her wings popped out and she was hovering above the ground. She is such a 6 year old. My mom handed Angel a present. Angel ferociously ripped it open.

"Omigod! A dress! And ballet shoes! And a pink jacket! AHHHH!"She screeched in happiness. Nudge was next. She ripped open her present and there were 2 books. One was on cars. One was about birds. And then there was a plastic car that she wanted to take apart and put it back together. She also got a stylish jean jacket. Gazzy got a toy ball and a pocket knife. I have no clue why my mom would get an 8 year old boy a knife, but Gazzy seemed to be happy about it. Then she brought out 3 identical looking boxes. We ripped them open, and inside were cell phones.

"Now you can let me know when your coming!" Mom exclaimed. We all hugged her hard, even Fang.

Ella programmed our numbers into speed dial on each others phones. For me, number 1 was Fang. 2-Iggy. 3-Mom. 4- Ella. I loved it.

Mom went grocery shopping right after we came. Her and Iggy made a huge dinner, and I stuffed my face.

There was only one guest room, so that night, Angel, Nudge, and I slept in Ella's room. The boys slept in the guest room. Ella slept with her mom. I check on everyone at 10 PM, making sure they were asleep. That was the only was I could relax. And then, I drifted off too.

I woke up so early. It was still dark, because it was so early. And no one was awake yet. I quietly looked around Ella's room. There were so many pictures, so many memories. In the corner of her desk, there was even a picture of me and her. I then saw a calender.

It's April already? I looked at the crossed out dates, and then I saw the one which showed what today was. The 27th.

When the flock destroyed Itex, all the schools were destroyed too. Except 1. One sat in the corner of Washington, underground, in case this ever happened. When kids started attacking all the schools, everyone who could went the School under washington. And right now, that one School was building two more. One in New York. One in Florida. And then those two would make two more. And soon, every state would have a school. ANd Max would be terminated.

_Max._

I felt pain shoot through my head. I groaned and sat down.

_Hello, Pain. _

My Voice was back. My head felt like it was splitting open. I held in a cry. I didnt want to wake the others, so I silently walked to the backyard.

I didn't know it then, but Fang was behind me.

_Stop the pain, please. _I started to cry, my head hurt so bad.

_Max. This is your final warning. Save the world. _

_I did, stupid._

_No. There is one more. Soon 3. And then 50. But you need to end it._

Pain shot through my head again, but it wasn't because of the voice. It was because the School's were coming back.

_Just tell me where, and I'll go. But not today. Today its supposed to be a happy day. And when you tell me, LEAVE MY HEAD JEB! _

_Washington._

And POOF! The Voice was gone. And I sat down, and started crying. It was just too much pressure.

Fang POV

I heard something in Ella's room, and I immdeiatly woke up.

I turned invisible. And I followed Max out the back door. She was crying. max was speaking out loud, talking to probably the Voice. She was crying. She was saying nonsense. I could ask her later. And then she shouted. And sat down.

And cried.

Max POV

All of the sudden, Fang was in front of me. I quickly sucked in my tears.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing."

"I saw you crying. I heard you talking. The Voice is back. Just tell me, and I will try to help."

I was so angry. "The School is back. In Washington. And I have to destroy it. (insert curse word of your choice here.)"

Fang wiped a tear from my eye. "Don't worry. It will all be okay."

I lost it, "You know what Fang? No. Everything is NOT gonna be okay. You pretend everything is fine. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PRETEND TO BE STRONG ALL THE TIME. YOU DONT NEED TO SAVE THE WORLD. YOU DONT HAVE A VOICE IN YOUR HEAD TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO. YOU CANT SAY ITS FINE, CAUSE YOUR NOT ME!"

I ran from him. He is little Mr. Dont Worry Peace Dude. And Im sick of pretending its ok. I ran super fast into the forest. I heard a wold howling, and it made me cry more. I missed Ari, my dead brother.

_You are learning love, Max. _

I didn't even both responding. Fang came next to me. He rubbed my back and hugged me.

"Please dont cry." He said. I sobbed into his back, trying to push him away. I was mad at him. Why doesn't he try being the leader? He lifted my chin toward him and kissed me. On the lips. I pushed him away. Hard.

"No! I have too much on my mind. I don't like to think of you that way! I don't want more complications! I can't take it!" And then, with my flying powers, I flew up and away at 250 miles per hour. livepage. 


	4. Gone?

Fang POV

I watched Max fly up and away at that incredible speed. I tried to follow, but was quickly left in the dust.

Man. I just made a fool out of myself by trying to kiss her and she doesnt even like me back. Crrraaaaapppp.

To add to that badness, she is mad at me.

The sun was starting to rise, and I could hear Dr. Martinez asking where Max and I were. I walked back in, and she gave me a hug.

"Fang, I thought you guys were kidnapped! Where's Max?" I stood there, not hugging her back.

"She went out flying." I walked away to the guest room to clean up. I slept in my jeans, my jacket, and a ratty t-shirt that was about to rip. I needed new clothes. I got a flashback:

_Does he haf any povers? Dr. Ter Borcht asked._

_Well, he is a snappy dresser. Max answered. _

I felt sad from that memory. I ruined everything with her. I don't care if she doesn't wanna go out or hook up. I want my best friend back. I took out my cell phone and sent a text:

**Sry. Come bac**

**-Fang**

You know what? I dont care if she hates me. I just want her to come home.

But she wasn't back by breakfast. Or lunch. And as we sat down for dinner, I figured she wouldn't be back by desert.

Max POV

As I glided up above Fang's head, I felt the tears dry on my face. I felt safe up here.

_But you're not._

Ugh. Voice. Even though I could call Dr.Martinez Mom, I couldn't bring myself to call Jeb Dad.

_What do you mean?_

I was getting scared. Maybe I should land. The Voice wasnt answering me. I was about to go back to the house when I saw Fang. My raptor vision caught one thing. A tear rolling down his cheek. I have kissed him 3 times now. Once I thought he was dying. Once he made out with me in a cave. And now that. But whenever we kiss, things get complicated. I would rather just be best friends. He needs some time to cool off. To undertsand I don't want to be with him that way.

_Are you sure about that? _Ugh. Annoying Voice gives advice on PERSONAL problems. But, I was thinking about what it said. I loved Fang. As a brother. Well, maybe more.

And then the image of Lissa and him making out in the hall came to my mind.

_You totally like him more than a brother. _

Ughh! NO! I am mad at Fang. So what... I might like hima little bit!

The life of a teenage mutant avian american hybrid drama queen. Gosh.

I dropped down to go back in. Thats when everything went wrong. I landed good. I was walking fine. And then I was pushed. At first I thought, invisible Fang. But it wasn't. There was a whitecoat. Holding a net. And a shot. And before I knew it, the needle was injected in me and I only saw black. But I knew. I was going to the school. In Wahsington.


	5. Yes, gone

1

Fang POV

We all sat down at the table for dinner. Max wasn't here. Either she is VERY pissed at me or she's in danger. Which one's worse? I could hardly eat. Well, I felt like I couldn't eat. I did shovel 3 steaks into my mouth though. Ella and Dr.Martinez were pretending to be calm. They are horrible liars.

After dinner, we stayed up to watch TV, waiting for Max. But as 11 PM rolled in, she still wasn't there. "Fang, I'm really tired,"Angel said. Whenever Max wasn't with us, they acted like I was the leader.

"Ok, Gazzy and Angel, it's your bedtimes." I walked them to Ella's room first. Angel crawled into the bed.

"Fang, I-I..." _I'm scared. Where's Max? _Angel thought into my head.

I nodded. "We'll wake you if anything happens." Ooh, now look who's Mr. Motherly. Ew. Definetly not. This is Max's job.

I tucked Gazzy in, and he made me promise to wake him if she comes back.

I walked into the living room where Nudge and Iggy were watching TV. Well, Nudge was. But Ig was listening. I saw Nudge dozing off, so I sat next to Ig. He touched my elbow and immediatly knew it was me. I sat there watching, but I didnt really pay attention. Nudge was dozing off.

"Ig... let's go look for her. I can't stand not knowing if she's ok!" We silently walked out the back door, and took off. Iggy followed the beat of my wings and we circled the city, looking in every tree and on top of every building for Max. We circled again. No Max. Three times. Then we gave up. I sent Max a text message:

**Where r u? Evry1 is scared n misses u**

**-Fang**

My phone beeped as it sent. Please, please answer, I willed it. No. We landed in the forest behind Dr. M's house. And I stopped when I landed, causing Iggy to run into me. He sensed that I was scared. Shocked. Angry. My fists were clenched so tight that my knuckles were turning white.

On the floor was a shot. And little droplets of blood.

"Fang." Iggy said, trying to understand what was happening. "FANG! TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!"

Fury was pouring out of my ears. "There is a needle on the floor. It's really long. And there's some blood. I can't tell if it is Max's. But either way, someone was here."

Iggy is GENIUS! "Get Nudge. She can touch it and see if Max was here and what was happening. Hurry."

I ran into the house, almost knocking down the door. I nudged Nudge(haha get it?) . She jumped back, but then saw it was me and relaxed. I motioned for her to come and put my finger over my lips to indicate be quiet.

We walked out the door and ran to where Iggy was kneeling on the floor feeling for more evidence. Nudge hardly poked the needle when she burst into tears. O my freaking g-d. Girls are so dramatic.

"Stop crying, Nudge."

SHe held in her tears and spoke, "Max was here. Fighting. And she was scared, adn sad, and in pain.And then she was silent. Or quiet. Or asleep. And there was a whitecoat here. And he was happy. " She burst into tears.

"-------!!!(insert curse word here again) I thought we destroyed Itex!" Iggy frowned.

"About that... I overheard Max talking to her voice before she ran away tis morning. And she was cursing and crying cause they were back. And I heard something about Washington. Iggy, Nudge..." They looked at me. "We are going to Washington to rescue Max!" We put our hands in the middle.

I started barking out orders like Max would do, "Nudge: go get Gazzy and Angel. Iggy: go get our packs and Total and all food you can find that does not need refrigeration. I am writing a note to Dr.M and Ella. Now GO! Meet here when you're done.

Nudgee scurried off. Iggy looked upset. "Write Ella and tell her I say bye too." He told me. I looked at him wierdly, but we both ran in.

Two hours later, we were still flying. The kids were basically in auto-pilot. Sleeping and flying at once. I was holding Total.

He was being annoying.

"I really need my beauty sleep. Can I take a nap?" Total whined.

"Sure!" I said with mock caring-ness. "You just go ahead and take a nap while we work our butts off to save Max. Just go ahead! NOT! Make yourself useful and tell me what state we are over."

Total said, "We are in North Nevada. Ohmigod! Lets go to Las Vegas!"

I shook my head.

And we just kept flying.

Max POV

I woke up, felling intense pain. I couldn't move. At first I thought, Oh crap, I'm paralyzed. But then I realized I was strapped down. So I tried to get out. But I couldn't. This majorly sucked! And then a whitecoat came in.

"Maximum Ride, you will be tested. You will fight. We will try to give you more powers. And if all our experiments succed, you will be terminated and another creation will dominate the world in the name of Itex."

"Wow, this proves you really are crazy," I snickered.

"Max, sarcasm will not help you. You stand no chance against us.

Um, didn't every other mad scientist say that? And how good did they do?

I searched the room for escape routes. Damn. They put me in a prison cell. The only way out was the door. She unstrapped one leg.

Before she could strap it onto a wheelchair, I kicked her in the face. Right under the nose. I could almost hear it crumble. Ew. She held her bleeding nose and ran to push the emergency button on my door."Wimp,"I muttered. I used this quick 5 second chance to pull off the velcro with my free foot. Great. Both feet were free. The whitecoat gave a cry and ran out the door, sealing it when she left. Now I felt as if I was in a box. I couldn't see the door. There were no windows. I pressed my feet against my bed and arched my back. I opened my wings. With the tip of my right one, I slid off the velcro. With my free hand, I ripped the other one off. I jumped off my bed to feel the room for any creaks to open the door. Crap.

So I sat. And sat. And waited. My phone beeped. O man! I hadn't realized it was in my pocket. There were 2 messages from Fang. I couldn't reply because there was no service. So I just kept sitting. And sitting. And sitting. And then after I don't know how many hours, the door opened. Jeb was standing there. He threw in a little girl and shut the door.

_Now would be a good time to figure something out. _My voice said.

The little girl lifted her head and smiled. I almost started crying. Angel! I ran to hug her but got blocked by something. I ran at her again. Then Fang appeared in front of me. I gave him the hugest hug. He smiled a tiny little smile. Then Angel ran to me.

"Ok guys, we need a plan.


	6. Instant Replay

1**I do not own this title. Or this story. I am just trying to make it seem more realistic.**

Max POV

We all sat in a circle, and Fang was invisible. Angel told me how they got in. "It was pretty scary. I mean, Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy are hiding in some trees and me and Fang are trying to get into the School. I mean, I never imagined I would WANT them to take us. So Fang went invisible and I flew over the gate with him.These whitecoats came running out, and they are all screaming, "experiment number 2 and 6!" So I made them think that they never knew who we were and they wanted to test something on me. Then I made them take me to your room, and then I realized it was Jeb I was trying to control. And it wasn't working. He then winked at me and took me to your room. There is obviously a camera out there, 'cause before when he walked me here he was all sweet but then he threw me in, giving Fang time to step into the room also. And then he walked away."

I felt a pain in my head, and it was like, VOICE ALERT!

_I told you I am on your side, Max. _

Ugh. I don't even know what to believe anymore. Just then, Jeb sneaked into the room and shut the door.

"Hello Max. Angel. Fang." He smiled at the spot Fang was sitting.

Wierdo.

"Remember when I snuck you out of the School all those years ago? Well, instant replay! Come with me. I disabled all the cameras," Jeb announced.

Was this a trick? Could I trust him? Angel popped a thought into my head, _We should trust him. I mean, we would get tested on anyways if we stayed. Anything would be better than just sitting. _I nodded at them all. We got up, and followed Jeb out the door. I held hands with Angel. We snuck out the door and got into this huge van. We started driving.

"WAIT!" The car skidded to a start. "We need to get Iggy, Nudge, and the Gasman! Pull over on this road." Jeb pulled over, and I called Iggy.

"Hey Ig. It's Max." I could hear shouting on the other line.

"Put her on speaker! Is she okay? Where is she? Lemme talk to her!" Ig put it on speaker. "Hey Max, are you with Fang and Angel?"

"Yeah. Also with Jeb. We are in a van on 206th Avenue. Come here immediately." We hung up and after 5 minutes, the whole flock was in the big car and driving.

"Uh, Jeb? Where are we going?" He peered at me through the rearview mirror.

"Going to the airport. To Washington DC. Some people want to meet you." The flock looked at each other, testing whether to trust him. I nodded. I just had a feeling about this. We all eventually fell asleep in the van. In the middle of my nap, I looked over at Fang next to me. In his sleep, he was flicking on and off like a lightswitch from invisible to not. I chuckled. I saw Jeb in the front, looking distracted.

I crawled to the front seat. "Hi Max." He said.

"Why do I trust you all of the sudden? Are you implanting thoughts in my head like Angel?"

"No. Maybe because I am your father. Because I raised you for the first 12 years of your life. Because I tried to explain how sorry I am several times." He actually looked sorry.

"Well then, Dad, how much longer til we get to the airport? And why aren't we flying?" I asked.

"About 15 minutes. And you know I don't have wings."

Hehe. He's a real leg-slapper. NOT. I rested my head against the seatbelt and dozed off, only to be waken 10 minutes later.

"We're here." Fang whispered. I slipped out of the car and lifted up Angel. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I carried her into the doors. We didn't have any luggage, just carry-ons. Jeb did have a suitcase though. We walked to our gate and sat down. I was pretty nervous with all these people around. I kept fidgeting. "Calm down, Max." I took a deep breath. And I think I got too calm. Because I saw Mom running towards me. I shut my eyes and opened them. Nope, her arms really were around me. And with her there, everything was okay.

Later that night, at around 3 AM, we stepped out of the airport. "That was a pleasant flight," I sarcastically exclaimed. Gazzy had gotten sick, and Mom had vomit on her from escorting him to the bathroom. Nudge was pretty scared the whole time, and I had no clue where we were going.

But when I walked out, even Fang almost smiled. There was a long black limousine waiting for us. Angel ran in, followed by Gazzy and Nudge.I sat in the back with Mom. And of course I had to sit next to Fang. As if things weren't awkward already. We had hardly spoken since this morning. I mean, yesterday morning technically.

"Mom?" I asked, trying to get her attention.

"Yes, sweetie?" She asked, squeezing my hand.

"Where are we going?"

"I thought Jeb told you! We are going to the Capitol."

Woah. I never realized how important we were.


End file.
